2013 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
TITLE 17 - Education
RS 17:3139.5 - Autonomies granted

§3139.5. Autonomies granted

Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, each institution that enters into a performance agreement shall be granted the authorities and autonomies as provided in this Section. However, nothing herein shall suspend the requirements of R.S. 39:1593.1.

(1) For the 2010-2011 Fiscal Year, pursuant to policies adopted by the institution's management board and in addition to the authority provided in R.S. 17:3351(A)(5)(e), the authority to increase tuition and mandatory fee amounts by up to five percent annually.

(2) For the 2011-2012 Fiscal Year, if the Board of Regents has determined that the institution has met the short-term targets established in the performance agreement, in addition to the authority provided in R.S. 17:3351(A)(5)(e), the authority to increase tuition and mandatory fee amounts by up to five percent annually.

(3) Beginning with the 2012-2013 Fiscal Year and thereafter, if the Board of Regents has determined that the institution has met the short-term targets established in the performance agreement and demonstrated progress on long-term targets, the institution shall be authorized to:

(a) Increase tuition and fee amounts by up to ten percent annually, without legislative approval, until the institution reaches the average tuition and fee amounts of its peer institutions. Tuition and fee amounts for peer institutions shall be weighted based upon the median household income in Southern Regional Education Board states in which respective peer institutions are located. The median household income in such states shall be compared with the median household income in Louisiana, and any differences between the average of the states shall be factored into the allowable tuition and fee amount increase for the respective institution.

(b) Upon reaching the average tuition and fee amounts as specified in Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph, increase tuition and fee amounts as necessary to maintain tuition and fee amounts as close to that average as practical.

(4) Each postsecondary education management board shall establish criteria for waiving any tuition or mandatory fee increase as authorized in this Section in cases of financial hardship. Information relative to such waivers and the criteria and procedures for obtaining a waiver shall be made available to all prospective students in a timely manner such that each student is informed of the availability of a waiver prior to the student making a final decision concerning attendance at any public institution of postsecondary education.

(5) Operational autonomies. (a) Base level. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any institution that is determined by the Board of Regents to have met the short-term targets established in the performance agreement may be granted the autonomies as provided in this Subparagraph; however, no institution shall be granted such an autonomy until after the division of administration determines that for the following year the institution possesses the capacity relevant to the autonomy including, at a minimum, a review of the most recent fiscal audit by the legislative auditor.

(i) Authority to retain any funds which remain unexpended and unobligated at the end of the fiscal year for use at the institution's discretion pursuant to R.S. 17:3386, and subject to the prior review and approval of the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget.

(ii) Authority to execute contracts up to a value of forty-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine dollars within a twelve-month period in accordance with the delegation of authority by the office of contractual review pursuant to R.S. 39:1488.

(iii) Authority to identify and dispose of obsolete equipment, excluding vehicles and items deemed by federal law to be of a dangerous nature, up to an original acquisition value of five thousand dollars.

(iv) Authority to be excluded from oversight or review by the office of information technology, as provided in R.S. 39:15.3, for purchases with an academic research or classroom instructional purpose.

(v) Authority to exclude from its table of organization any position that is fully funded by nonappropriated funds.

(b) Intermediate level. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary and in addition to the base level autonomies granted pursuant to Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph, any institution that is determined by the Board of Regents to have met the short-term targets established in the performance agreement may be granted the autonomies as provided in this Subparagraph; however, no institution shall be granted such an autonomy until after the division of administration determines that for the following year the institution possesses the capacity relevant to the autonomy including, at a minimum, a review of the most recent fiscal audit by the legislative auditor, and the institution has met the Board of Regents' requirements for significantly streamlining its academic service delivery to students to meet regional workforce needs as provided in Item (vi) of this Subparagraph. Any autonomy granted pursuant to this Subparagraph shall be subject to the prior review and approval of the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget.

(i) Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 39:1702, authority to procure materials, supplies, equipment, and services through any purchasing agreements established by a not-for-profit cooperative buying organization located in the United States, if such purchasing agreements have been established pursuant to a competitive bid proposal process. Prior to joining a not-for-profit cooperative buying organization, the institution shall publish a notice of intent to join such not-for-profit cooperative buying organization in the official journal of the state and of the parish in which the institution is located. Prior to entering any purchasing agreement with a not-for-profit cooperative buying organization, the institution shall publish a notice of intent to enter such purchasing agreement through a centralized, electronic, interactive environment administered by the division of administration as provided in R.S. 39:1593 and on the institution's website and shall allow fifteen days for interested vendors to submit proposals for the materials, supplies, equipment, or services. The proposals submitted by interested vendors shall adhere to the request for proposal or solicitation issued by the cooperative buying organization. The institution shall review the proposals submitted by interested vendors and compare the proposals to the cooperative buying organization agreement to determine the lowest responsive and responsible vendor. The institution shall utilize the lowest responsive and responsible vendor for the procurement. For purposes of this Item, lowest responsive and responsible bidder shall be defined as set forth in R.S. 39:1591.

(ii) Authority to directly administer minor facility capital outlay projects without oversight or control by the office of facility planning and control. For purposes of this Item, minor facilities projects shall mean, in addition to the authority provided in R.S. 39:128, those that do not require the use of and coordination between more than two trades or that do not require the use of the professional services of an architect or engineer pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 39:1482 and 1484.

(iii) Authority to join an existing cooperative purchasing agreement in accordance with R.S. 39:1702 and Item (i) of this Subparagraph. Prior to joining a not-for-profit cooperative buying organization, the institution shall publish a notice of intent to join such not-for-profit cooperative buying organization in the official journal of the state and of the parish in which the institution is located. Prior to entering any purchasing agreement with a not-for-profit cooperative buying organization, the institution shall publish a notice of intent to enter such purchasing agreement through a centralized, electronic, interactive environment administered by the division of administration as provided in R.S. 39:1593 and on the institution's website and shall allow fifteen days for interested vendors to submit proposals for the materials, supplies, equipment, or services. The proposals submitted by interested vendors shall adhere to the request for proposal or solicitation issued by the cooperative buying organization. The institution shall review the proposals submitted by interested vendors and compare the proposals to the cooperative buying organization agreement to determine the lowest responsive and responsible vendor. The institution shall utilize the lowest responsive and responsible vendor for the procurement. For purposes of this Item, lowest responsive and responsible bidder shall be defined as set forth in R.S. 39:1591.

(iv) Authority to use reverse auctions. For purposes of this Item, reverse auction means a competitive online solicitation process on the Internet for products, supplies, services, and other materials in which vendors compete against each other in real time in an open and interactive environment.

(v) Authority for the director of purchasing at a college or university to make a determination to use a competitive request for proposal process as provided in R.S. 39:1593(C) without the approval of the commissioner of administration or the director of state purchasing.

(vi) For purposes of this Subparagraph, for an institution to meet the requirement of significantly streamlining academic service delivery, the institution shall have acted on at least two items from a list approved by the Board of Regents, which shall include the following:

(aa) The review of all of its programs and academic offerings and appropriate action to improve those programs and academic offerings through modification, consolidation, or elimination, including consideration of online delivery of academic offerings to meet workforce needs and maximize resources.

(bb) The review and streamlining of all course offerings to align with program requirements and facilitate on-time graduation.

(cc) If a two-year institution, the review of nonacademic programs and degrees and appropriate action to improve such programs and degrees through modification, consolidation, or elimination, including consideration of online delivery of academic offerings.

(dd) If a four-year institution, raised the minimum composite score on the American College Test required for admission to at least two points higher than the Board of Regents baseline appropriate for its type of institution. This requirement shall be notwithstanding a student's grade point average. Opting not to participate in this requirement shall not preclude an institution from implementing minimum admission standards in accordance with Board of Regents policy.

(c) High level. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary and in addition to the base level and intermediate level autonomies granted pursuant to Subparagraphs (a) and (b) of this Paragraph, any institution that is determined by the Board of Regents to have met the short-term targets established in the performance agreement may be granted the autonomies as provided in this Subparagraph; however, no institution shall be granted such an autonomy until after the division of administration determines that for the following year the institution possesses the capacity relevant to the autonomy including, at a minimum, a review of the most recent fiscal audit by the legislative auditor and has a one hundred fifty percent of normal-time Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System graduation rate within five percent of the average graduation rate for its classification according to the Southern Regional Education Board.

(i) Authority to participate in a pilot procurement code as established by the initial qualifying institution to be in place for an initial period of three years and approved by the division of administration. The initial qualifying institution shall establish any pilot procurement code pursuant to rules and regulations adopted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. An institution granted this autonomy may use this pilot procurement code in lieu of the Louisiana Procurement Code as provided in R.S. 39:15.3, 196 through 200, 1481 through 1526, and 1551 through 1755, subject to the prior review and approval of the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget.

(ii)(aa) Exemption from participation in the state's risk management program established by R.S. 39:1527 et seq. and administered by the office of risk management, pursuant to a phased-in plan of implementation as determined by the institution in collaboration with the attorney general and the division of administration, subject to the prior review and approval of the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget. This exemption shall not include the coverage provided by the state's risk management program pursuant to R.S. 40:1299.39.

(bb) Nothing in this exemption shall abrogate, amend, or alter the authority of the attorney general or the Department of Justice under Article IV, Sections 1 and 8 of the Constitution of Louisiana or any other provision of law to represent the state and all departments and agencies of state government in all litigation arising out of or involving tort or contract. Any institution that is granted an exemption under this Item shall enter into an interagency agreement with the attorney general and pay the attorney general reasonable attorney fees and expenses incurred in representing the institution.

(cc) Nothing in this Item shall be construed as creating any independent or separate cause of action against the state. The state shall continue to be sued only through the exempt institution's management board and cannot be sued in addition to or separately from the exempt institution's management board in any cause of action asserted against the exempt institution. Neither the state nor the office of risk management shall be responsible for payment of any judgment against the exempt institution's management board. The state's obligation to indemnify a covered individual as provided in R.S. 13:5108.1 shall not be performed by the office of risk management.

(dd) Any contract between the exempt institution's management board and its insurer shall name the state as an additional insured. Any provision in any contract between the exempt institution's management board and its insurer that conflicts with the provisions of this Section shall be deemed null and void.

(ee) Nothing in this Item shall be construed to adversely affect any of the substantive and procedural provisions and limitations applicable to actions against the state, including but not limited to the provisions of R.S. 13:5106, 5107, 5108.1, and 5112, and R.S. 9:2800 which would continue to apply equally to any exempted institution. Those provisions that will not apply are those that are specifically excluded in this Section. Upon transfer of each line of coverage to the exempted institution under this Section, the provisions of R.S. 39:1527 et seq., as well as the provisions of R.S. 13:5106(B)(3)(c), shall not apply to the line of coverage so transferred, nor to any claims asserted against the exempted institution within the transferred line of coverage.

(iii) Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 39:113, authority to administer all facilities projects funded with self-generated revenue, federal funds, donations, grants, or revenue bonds, including all projects falling under R.S. 39:128; however, excluding those projects falling under R.S. 39:128, these projects shall not be exempted from the capital outlay budget or any requirements as pertains thereto.

(iv) Authority to invest funds as defined by R.S. 49:327(C), in addition to those instruments laid out in R.S. 49:327(B)(1), in tax exempt bonds and other taxable governmental bonds issued by any state or a political subdivision or public corporation of any state, provided that such bonds are rated by a nationally recognized rating agency as investment grade. The investment policy governing such investment as defined by R.S. 49:327(C)(1)(b) shall define the allocation of funds among instruments and the term of maturity of the instruments, subject to the prior review and approval of the investment advisory committee. If an institution pursuant to the Board of Regents' annual review is either no longer meeting its short-term targets or is determined by the division of administration to no longer possess the capacity relevant to this autonomy, or both, authority to invest additional funds shall be limited to those instruments defined by R.S. 49:327(B)(1) and (C), and shall exclude further investments in tax exempt bonds and other taxable government bonds issued by any state or a political subdivision or public corporation of any state.

(6)(a) Any operational autonomies granted to an institution pursuant to this Section shall terminate immediately upon revocation of the institution's six-year performance agreement by the Board of Regents. The Board of Regents shall notify the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget of any such revocation of a performance agreement.

(b) Any operational autonomy granted to an institution pursuant to this Section shall terminate immediately upon determination by the division of administration that an institution has failed to maintain the operational capacity relevant to that autonomy. The division of administration shall notify the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget of any institution's failure to maintain the operational capacity relevant to any previously granted operational autonomy.

Acts 2010, No. 741, §1, eff. June 29, 2010; Acts 2011, No. 418, §1, eff. July 12, 2011; Acts 2012, No. 811, §5, eff. July 7, 2012.